Sweden vs Slovakia prediction, preview, team news and more

The European Championship continues with a fresh set of fixtures as Sweden lock horns with Slovakia at the Krestovsky Stadium in Group E on Friday.

Sweden will be aiming to build on their solid opening-day display against Spain. Meanwhile, Slovakia will look to pick up consecutive wins after beating Poland 2-1 last Monday.

Sweden have continued their impressive friendly performances into the Euros. They held Spain to a goalless draw in their opening Group E fixture.

Sweden put on a defensive masterclass against the three-time champions as they forced a share of the spoils at the Estadio de La Cartuja on Monday.

Prior to that, Janne Andersson's men picked up three straight wins in international friendlies, beating Estonia, Finland and Armenia.

Sweden are currently on a six-game unbeaten run, dating back to a 4-2 loss against France in the UEFA Nations League back in November 2020.

Slovakia, on the other hand, had a dream start to their Euro 2020 campaign as they claimed a 2-1 win over Poland on Monday.

Štefan Tarkovič's side took the lead thanks to an own goal from Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny before Karol Linetty restored parity in the 46th minute. However Inter Milan star Milan Skriniar scored the decisive goal in the 69th minute to give Slovakia all three points.

Slovakia currently sit at the summit of Group E, two points above Friday's opponents.

Similarly, they are on a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions and will aim to maintain this fine run of results.

Sweden vs Slovakia Head-To-Head

Sweden have been the superior side in the history of this fixture. They are unbeaten against Slovakia, picking up three wins and two draws from five meetings.

They last met in a friendly game back in October 2018, when John Guidetti and Albert Rusnák scored for either side as they played out a 1-1 draw.

Sweden Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-D

Slovakia Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-D-D-W

Also Read: Fabrizio Romano's Transfer Roundup: Update on Manchester United's pursuit of Jadon Sancho, Chelsea's plans for Hakimi, and more

Sweden vs Slovakia Team News

Sweden

The Blagult will be without the services of Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg, who is in isolation after contracting COVID-19.

However, there is a major boost in their squad as Juventus star Dejan Kulusevski has returned to full training after recovering from COVID-19.

Injured: None

Suspended: None

COVID-19: Mattias Svanberg

Slovakia

The visitors will be without the services of Ivan Schranz, who has been sidelined through injury. Other than that, head coach Štefan Tarkovič has a fully-fit squad at his disposal.

Injured: Ivan Schranz

Suspended: None

Sweden vs Slovakia Predicted XI

Sweden Predicted XI (4-4-2): Robin Olsen; Mikael Lustig, Victor Lindelöf, Marcus Danielson, Ludwig Augustinsson; Sebastian Larsson, Kristoffer Olsson, Albin Ekdal, Emil Forsberg; Marcus Berg, Alexander Isak

Slovakia Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Martin Dúbravka; Peter Pekarík, Ľubomír Šatka, Milan Škriniar, Tomáš Hubočan; Juraj Kucka, Jakub Hromada; Lukáš Haraslín, Marek Hamšík, Róbert Mak; Ondrej Duda

Sweden vs Slovakia Prediction

Sweden head into this tie following an outstanding display against Spain and will be looking to build on that performance. They will be significantly boosted by the return of Juve's Kulusevski and we expect them to take a more attacking approach into the game.

Looking at their record against the visitors, we are tipping the Swedes to claim all three points on Friday.

Prediction: Sweden 2-1 Slovakia